HRC Blog

Watch: Marriage Equality Legalized in New Zealand

New Zealand’s same-sex marriage bill was approved by Parliament last night in a 77-44 vote, making New Zealand the 13th nation to approve marriage equality nationwide.

Same-sex marriage is set to take effect in mid August.

Spectators watching the final vote began singing a traditional Maori love song shortly after the tally was announced. The bill’s openly gay sponsor Louisa Wall joins the chorus near the end of the video below.

MP Maurice Williamson delivered an uproariously funny speech earlier in the hearing, in which he dispelled some of the more bizarre arguments he heard against marriage equality. That video - also worth a watch - is below.